Judah’s King Amaziah

25 Amaziah^(A) became king when he was twenty-five years old, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jehoaddan; she was from Jerusalem. ² He did what was right in the Lord’s sight but not wholeheartedly.^(B)

³ As soon as the kingdom was firmly in his grasp,^[a] he executed his servants who had killed his father the king. ⁴ However, he did not put their children to death, because—as it is written in the Law, in the book of Moses,^(C) where the Lord commanded—“Fathers are not to die because of children, and children are not to die because of fathers, but each one will die for his own sin.”^(D)

Amaziah’s Campaign against Edom

⁵ Then Amaziah gathered Judah and assembled them according to ancestral families,^[b] according to commanders of thousands, and according to commanders of hundreds. He numbered those twenty years old or more^(E) for all Judah and Benjamin. He found there to be three hundred thousand fit young men who could serve in the army, bearing spear and shield.^{(F) 6} Then for 7,500 pounds^[c] of silver he hired one hundred thousand valiant warriors from Israel.

⁷ However, a man of God^(G) came to him and said, “King, do not let Israel’s army go with you, for the Lord is not with Israel—all the Ephraimites. ⁸ But if you go with them, do it! Be strong for battle! But God will make you stumble before the enemy,^(H) for God has the power to help^(I) or to make one stumble.”

⁹ Then Amaziah said to the man of God, “What should I do about the 7,500 pounds of silver I gave to Israel’s division?”

The man of God replied, “The Lord is able to give you much more than this.”

¹⁰ So Amaziah released the division that came to him from Ephraim to go home. But they got very angry with Judah and returned home in a fierce rage.

¹¹ Amaziah strengthened his position and led his people to the Salt Valley. He struck down ten thousand Seirites,^{[d] 12} and the Judahites captured ten thousand alive. They took them to the top of a cliff where they threw them off, and all of them were dashed to pieces.

¹³ As for the men of the division that Amaziah sent back so they would not go with him into battle, they raided the cities of Judah from Samaria to Beth-horon, struck down three thousand of their people, and took a great deal of plunder.

¹⁴ After Amaziah came from the attack on the Edomites, he brought the gods of the Seirites and set them up as his gods. He worshiped before them and burned incense to them.^{(J) 15} So the Lord’s anger was against Amaziah, and he sent a prophet to him, who said, “Why have you sought a people’s gods that could not rescue their own people from you?” ^(K)

¹⁶ While he was still speaking to him, the king asked, “Have we made you the king’s counselor? Stop, why should you lose your life?”

So the prophet stopped, but he said, “I know that God intends to destroy you, because you have done this and have not listened to my advice.”

Amaziah’s War with Israel’s King Jehoash

¹⁷ King Amaziah of Judah took counsel^(L) and sent word to Jehoash^[e] son of Jehoahaz, son of Jehu, king of Israel, and challenged him: “Come, let’s meet face to face.”

¹⁸ King Jehoash of Israel sent word to King Amaziah of Judah, saying, “The thistle in Lebanon sent a message to the cedar in Lebanon, saying, ‘Give your daughter to my son as a wife.’ Then a wild animal in Lebanon passed by and trampled the thistle.^{(M) 19} You have said, ‘Look, I^[f] have defeated Edom,’ and you have become overconfident^[g](N) that you will get glory. Now stay at home. Why stir up such trouble so that you fall and Judah with you?”

²⁰ But Amaziah would not listen, for this turn of events was from God in order to hand them over to their enemies because they went after the gods of Edom. ²¹ So King Jehoash of Israel advanced. He and King Amaziah of Judah met face to face at Beth-shemesh that belonged to Judah. ²² Judah was routed before Israel, and each man fled to his own tent. ²³ King Jehoash of Israel captured Judah’s King Amaziah son of Joash, son of Jehoahaz,^[h](O) at Beth-shemesh. Then Jehoash took him to Jerusalem and broke down two hundred yards^[i] of Jerusalem’s wall from the Ephraim Gate to the Corner Gate.^{[j](P) 24} He took all the gold, silver, all the utensils that were found with Obed-edom^(Q) in God’s temple, the treasures of the king’s palace, and the hostages. Then he returned to Samaria.

Amaziah’s Death

²⁵ Judah’s King Amaziah^(R) son of Joash lived fifteen years after the death of Israel’s King Jehoash son of Jehoahaz. ²⁶ The rest of the events of Amaziah’s reign, from beginning to end, are written in the Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel.

²⁷ From the time Amaziah turned from following the Lord, a conspiracy was formed against him in Jerusalem, and he fled to Lachish. However, men were sent after him to Lachish, and they put him to death there. ²⁸ They carried him back on horses and buried him with his ancestors in the city of Judah.^[k](S)

Jonah’s Flight

1 The word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai:^{(A) 2} “Get up!^(B) Go to the great city^(C) of Nineveh^(D) and preach against it^(E) because their evil^(F) has come up before me.”^{(G) 3} Jonah got up to flee to Tarshish^(H) from the Lord’s presence.^(I) He went down^(J) to Joppa^(K) and found a ship going to Tarshish. He paid the fare and went down into it to go with them to Tarshish from the Lord’s presence.

⁴ But the Lord threw^(L) a great wind onto the sea,^(M) and such a great storm arose on the sea that the ship threatened to break apart. ⁵ The sailors were afraid, and each cried out to his god.^(N) They threw the ship’s cargo into the sea to lighten the load.^(O) Meanwhile, Jonah had gone down to the lowest part of the vessel and had stretched out and fallen into a deep sleep.^(P)

⁶ The captain approached him and said, “What are you doing sound asleep? Get up! Call to your god.^[a](Q) Maybe this god will consider us,^(R) and we won’t perish.”

⁷ “Come on!” the sailors said to each other. “Let’s cast lots.^(S) Then we’ll know who is to blame for this trouble we’re in.” So they cast lots, and the lot singled out Jonah.^{(T) 8} Then they said to him, “Tell us who is to blame for this trouble we’re in.^(U) What is your business,^(V) and where are you from? What is your country, and what people are you from?”

⁹ He answered them, “I’m a Hebrew.^(W) I worship^[b] the Lord,^(X) the God of the heavens,^(Y) who made the sea^(Z) and the dry land.”

¹⁰ Then the men were seized by a great fear and said to him, “What have you done?” The men knew he was fleeing from the Lord’s presence^(AA) because he had told them. ¹¹ So they said to him, “What should we do to you so that the sea will calm down for us?” For the sea was getting worse and worse.

¹² He answered them, “Pick me up and throw me into the sea so that it will calm down for you, for I know that I’m to blame^(AB) for this great storm that is against you.” ¹³ Nevertheless, the men rowed hard to get back to dry land, but they couldn’t because the sea was raging against them more and more.

¹⁴ So they called out to the Lord,^(AC) “Please, Lord, don’t let us perish because of this man’s life, and don’t charge us with innocent blood! For you, Lord, have done just as you pleased.”^{(AD) 15} Then they picked up Jonah and threw him into the sea, and the sea stopped its raging.^{(AE) 16} The men were seized by great fear of the Lord,^(AF) and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows.^(AG)

¹⁷ The Lord appointed a great fish^(AH) to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.^(AI)

Jonah’s Prayer

2 Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the belly of the fish:^(AJ)

¹⁰ Then the Lord commanded the fish,^(BJ) and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.

Jonah’s Preaching

3 The word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time:^{(BK) 2} “Get up! Go to the great city of Nineveh^(BL) and preach^(BM) the message that I tell you.” ³ Jonah got up and went to Nineveh according to the Lord’s command.

Now Nineveh was an extremely great city,^[h](BN) a three-day walk. ⁴ Jonah set out on the first day of his walk in the city and proclaimed,^(BO) “In forty days Nineveh will be demolished!” ⁵ Then the people of Nineveh believed God. They proclaimed a fast^(BP) and dressed in sackcloth—from the greatest of them to the least.

⁶ When word reached the king of Nineveh, he got up from his throne, took off his royal robe, covered himself with sackcloth,^(BQ) and sat in ashes. ⁷ Then he issued a decree^(BR) in Nineveh:

By order of the king and his nobles: No person or animal, herd or flock, is to taste anything at all. They must not eat or drink water. ⁸ Furthermore, both people and animals must be covered with sackcloth, and everyone must call out earnestly to God.^(BS) Each must turn from his evil ways^(BT) and from his wrongdoing.^{[i] 9} Who knows?^(BU) God may turn and relent; he may turn from his burning anger so that we will not perish.^(BV)

¹⁰ God saw their actions—that they had turned from their evil ways^(BW)—so God relented from the disaster^(BX) he had threatened them with. And he did not do it.

Jonah’s Anger

4 Jonah was greatly displeased and became furious.^{(BY) 2} He prayed to the Lord,^(BZ) “Please, Lord, isn’t this what I said while I was still in my own country? That’s why I fled toward Tarshish in the first place.^(CA) I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God,^(CB) slow to anger, abounding in faithful love, and one who relents from sending disaster.^{(CC) 3} And now, Lord, take my life from me,^(CD) for it is better for me to die than to live.”^(CE)

⁴ The Lord asked, “Is it right for you to be angry?”

⁵ Jonah left the city and found a place east of it.^(CF) He made himself a shelter there and sat in its shade to see what would happen to the city. ⁶ Then the Lord God appointed a plant, and it grew over Jonah to provide shade for his head to rescue him from his trouble.^[j] Jonah was greatly pleased with the plant. ⁷ When dawn came the next day, God appointed a worm that attacked the plant, and it withered.^(CG)

⁸ As the sun was rising, God appointed a scorching east wind.^(CH) The sun beat down on Jonah’s head^(CI) so much that he almost fainted, and he wanted to die. He said, “It’s better for me to die than to live.”^(CJ)

⁹ Then God asked Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry about the plant?”

“Yes, it’s right!” he replied. “I’m angry enough to die!”

¹⁰ And the Lord said, “You cared about the plant, which you did not labor over and did not grow. It appeared in a night and perished in a night. ¹¹ So may I not care about the great city of Nineveh,^(CK) which has more than a hundred twenty thousand people who cannot distinguish between their right and their left,^(CL) as well as many animals?”^(CM)